Animal lovers unite!
Have you ever seen a stray dog and felt compelled to take it in, but then realized your spouse may not be thrilled with the idea? This brilliant adult comedy is a delightful and hilarious romp about a canine who wreaks havoc on a 22-year marriage by bringing an average couple’s marital troubles to the surface. After a series of hilarious and touching complications, the couple learns to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives. Woof! Woof!

A shame I waited until the last show to see this wonderful production of "Sylvia". I kept wondering why it hadn't got reviewed here and feared that was a bad sign. Happily it wasn't. Now that's it's closed, not much point in a review, but for the record I thought that this was a damn fine show.

I'd never seen "Sylvia" before, but knew enough about it from having auditioned for it. OK, actor plays dog that someone brings home, but the dog talks and is spoken to yet stays in character as a dog. Hmm, interesting idea, and lots of comedy and mayhem ensues from that premise. Enough critics have weighed in on the script and I don't have the chops to add to that, but what inspired me to write this were the excellent performances.

Pat Bell, as Kate, admirably walked a fine line between us disliking her for not wanting her husband, Greg, to keep adorable Sylvia and our shared concern for what was happening to their marriage.

Lee Buechele, as Greg, who I recently saw performing the role of "Big Daddy" would not have been my first pick as a Manhattan financial urbanite, but by the end of the play I was sold on his character and could not have imagined Greg otherwise. He made the character true to his self and his chemistry with Sylvia was charming and sincere.

Doug Graham as the friend, dog owner and therapist exhibited the the most amazingly inspired lunacy I've seen on stage in a long time. He was a treat to watch.

Jenna Edmonds, as Sylvia, was absolutely splendid. It would have been easy to be cliche in how she physicalized how a dog would be played, but she never came close to cliche and she displayed a boundless amount of energy and imagination in bringing Sylvia to life. She charmed me her first minute on stage and thus was so much fun to watch.

Credit should go also to Michael Harris who directed this talented ensemble as well as to Onstage Atlanta for putting up a show as enjoyable as this was. [POST A COMMENT REGARDING THIS REVIEW]